Abdominal belt.



F; G. BAUGATZ.

A BDOIVIINAL BELT. APPLICATION FILED NOV. I6, ISIS.

1,239,650, Patented Julie 19, 1917.

' Zia/@$5020 FREDERIC GEORGES BATJ'G'JLTZ` OF PARIS, FRANCE.

ABDOMINAL BELT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Taten-tea aan@ ia, iai a.

Application lled November 16, 1915. Serial No. 61,817.

-' To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Femmine GEORGES BAUGATZ, -a citizen of vthe Republic of France, residing in Paris, France, have invented certain new and useful Improveyments in Abdominal Belts, of Which'the fol--l lowing is aspeeiieation.

an abdominal belt, as above described, which 'will exert a uniform pressure on allpor- "'The present invention relates to abdom- `nal belts, and it proposes, briefly, an im proved article of the general character specified which may be worn either as a' support `for the abdomen, or, in the manner of a corset, as a means to reduce l'lesh and to hold up or support Various pieces of clothin. 'The inventlon aims primarily to provide tions of the abdomen; which will remain in place without creasinglor riding up; and which, in 'contradistinction to the elastic bandages now in use, can loe readily washed.

According to the invention, and for the purpose of effecting the aforementioned objects, the improved belt is composed of eral parts or pieces, the piece or pieces to be applied directly to the abdomen being made of non-elasticmaterial so as to .retain its original shape in spite of use This abdominal' section is formed with a slit, which extends downward from the central portion of the upper edge of said section, and is closed by a flap-or tab, the arrangement being1 such that the belt may easily be loosened or tightened, whenever desired, by merely unliastening` or fastening the flap. The various parts or sections of the belt are connected together by button-hole fastenings, which likewise enable the length of the belt to be readily adjusted by Changing the position of the buttons, and which permit the belt to be washed without becoming4 stained, as is the oase when metal buckles are use. Also, these button-hole fastenings avoid the unsightly hulges usually caused by straps and burkles.

.ln the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is an elevation of one forni ol the improved belt;

Fig 2 .is View, on a greatly-reduced saale, showing the belt in'nse; and

Vig. 5l is an elevation ol a: development or modii'ieation ol" the torni shown in Figi, l.

Referring more i arti -.uhul}.' to :said ile-auw ing. o, indieates tl 1 front sei'lion or inem-- hoi-'ot the belt, whivh, in this instance, is iistended to be worn by a man. The said part a is designed to be applied directly against the abdomen, and is constructed of cloth,

canvas or other suitable non-elastic, washable material. It may be made either vin piece, as shown in Fig. 3, or in two separate parts,` as shown in Fig. l; and in the latter case', the two parts are symmetrical, and are connected together along their inner vertical edges by means of buttons and buttonholes j. ln either case, however, the aforesaid part a', when complete, is wider at its middle than at its ends, so as to lextend downward and thus cover the entire abdo` hips.

When made prevailed with in one piece, the part a is a vertical opening or slit g, which extends downward from the Central portion of its upper edge. lliisslit may be closed, when it i5 desired to tighten the belt, hy means of a lap or tab ii, which is retained in closed position by a button-hole fastening fr, but is adapted to be unlauttoned to loosen theabelt. The twopieee construe-tion may likewise be partly or oompleiely buttoned up for th aine purpose.

ln order to stitl'en the part a, whether of one-piece or t\''opieee construction, and` o use it to keep its shape vertically, with out creasing or riding up, suitable vertical and oblique whalebones or steels 7) and e are provided, these bones or steels being arranged symmetrically, as shown.

The part al at the back of the belt, is designed to lie against the haelt of the wearer, as will be understood, and is preferably in the form of a comparatively-narrow strip ot' non-elastic, washable material, likewise stillened by wlialebones or steels f, arranged symmetrically with respect thereto. The adjacent ends ofthe parts d and aV are connected tiigother by elastic straps or members o, which to cover the sides of tlie wearer, three such members being shown in each fase. These elastic in .-\,inl ers have their ends detaehably secured to the ends of the parts al and a, 'by means of button-hole fasteniugs, which not only enable them to be re moved when it is desired to wash the said parte i and u, but whit-,h 'also permit the length ol the belt to he iadily adjusted by merely imaging the po ,ion ot the buttons. Furthermore, the effort-.said 42astenings preserve and improve the lines oli the ligure olf veo the wearer by `completely avoiding bulging. :which is usually present when belts with strap-and-buckle-fastenings areworn.

A belt constructed` as above described, fulls all requirements', and, Whenworn, exerts a uniform pressure 4on all parts of .the abdo- -men,v the :drawing efect produced -by Vthe backv part d andthe pressure imposed upon Wound.

shirtfand in furtherance of that the hips being practically negligible While there is no. liabilitv of vthe-.belt losing its shape. Ij't .may be'utilized to 'l'ioldfpoulticesA or compresses in place, ror'to supportsllrgical dressings, in which Vlatter ease,'however, a4 pad or dressing band would be substituted for that art oi the'belt .Which'co'lversY-the inally, the belt may .be'fused to support either Outer or under garments, accor'in'g as it is worn over or beneath the Vpurpose may -be provided with a slit or hole i .through which may be passed one or anothennf'theu buttons of the garment to be supported.`

lTheinvention is obviously not limited toI the'. precise structural v since it is susceptible ofmodii'cation and details illustrated,`

chang IWithinits legitimate scope as hereinafter claimed.

l I claim as my invention An abdominal belt acting as a corset, comprising a non-elastic abdominal section having its central portion of greater width than its' end portions; a comparatively-narrow, non-elastic back section; and elastic side sections between the abdominal and back sections; said side sections and abdominal and back sections having detachable buttonand Abutton-hole fastenings connecting their adjacent ends; and said abdominal section being provided with a slit extending downward for a distance from the central portion of its upper edge, and with buttonand button-hole fastening .means for -closing said 

